News & Announcements

A bill passed by the Michigan State Senate would endanger the health of Michiganders by granting sweeping new powers to practitioners of unscientific bogus medicine and treatments, said the Center for Inquiry.

si

by Eric Wojciechowski

UFOlogy is replete with varying descriptions of UFOs and their occupants—so much so that concluding an alien intelligence is piloting them goes against the more logical and reasonable conclusion that the only intelligence behind the phenomenon is the human brain itself.

The Sputtering Engine of Creator Belief

si

Far from belief in a supernatural creator being a natural consequence of the way our brains work like language, materialism, and sex, it is an easily cast-off opinion quickly losing ground in the United States and much of the world.

Those Supposed Aliens Might Be Worms

si

by David Zeigler

Many believe life on alien planets would likely include intelligent humanoids, and much of science fiction uses this idea. Based on what we know of evolution on Earth, there is really no basis for this belief; however, one supportable prediction for alien lifeform would be worms.

si

by Jeanne Goldberg

Public attitudes about radiation, shaped by a rich history of mythology from biblical times to the modern events of Chernobyl and Fukushima, impact personal lives and decisions, but they also have global existential implications.

I’ve Got Algorithm. Who Could Ask for Anything More?

si

by Peter Kassan

The news has been filled with discussions of the so-called algorithms of Facebook and other software giants. Originally, the word algorithm had a precise meaning, but more recently it has been used to elicit undeserved respect—and perhaps to avoid deeper scrutiny.

Progressophobia: Why Things Are Better Than You Think They Are

si

by Steven Pinker

Intellectuals dislike the very idea of progress. Our own mental bugs also distort our understanding of the world, blinding us to improvements in the human condition underway globally—and to the ideas that have made them possible.

by Randall J. Osczevski

si

The decades-long academic assault on science has bewildered the American public about the role and function of science, promoted anti-intellectualism, and politically empowered purveyors of supernaturalism and paranormal beliefs.

si

The most serious implication is that Daryl Bem, a famous and well-respected psychologist, has been guilty of “an unethical manipulation of data in search of statistical significance” to support claims of the paranormal.

si

by Bertha Vazquez and Christopher Freidhoff

A high school biology teacher asked the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science (a division of the Center for Inquiry) a series of questions about teaching evolution. Bertha Vazquez, director the foundation’s Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES), answered.

Free Energy: When the Web Is Freewheeling

si

by Sebastien Point

si

The hairy man-beast known as the “Sasquatch” or “Bigfoot” is now ever present in North American culture. Supposedly a throwback to our evolutionary past, it is an “ape-man” version of us just as the little-bodied, big-headed, humanoid extraterrestrial is a futuristic one.

si

by Jeanne Goldberg

It is paradoxical that in populations supportive of science and democracy scientific issues have become politicized to the degree that objective evidence is ignored or rejected in favor of “alternative” opinions.

si

by Craig A. Foster and Sarenna M. Ortiz

Proponents of the vaccination-autism link have created a bogus scientific debate by providing lists of studies that supposedly support their claims but are actually either questionable or irrelevant. We identify this as a relatively new pseudoscience tactic: the promotion of irrelevant research.

si

The issues we address are only “soft” targets in the sense that there may be little scientific support for some of these claims. But these claims actually can be very resilient because of ideological support or commercial interests.

si

by Stephen Hupp, Amanda Stary, and Jeremy Jewell

Parents and students struggle to distinguish between pseudoscience and evidence-based ideas in child psychology. This study sampled the beliefs of 163 students and 205 parents on topics related to parenting and development.

si

It changed my life. I had already rejected religion after reading atheist writings, but I was still open to belief in UFOs, ESP, and all sorts of other weird things, simply because I had never come across anyone who questioned those beliefs.

si

by Christopher C. French

Back in the early 1980s, I believed in quite a number of paranormal claims. In my defense, back then skeptical critiques of parapsychology were even rarer than they are now, and all the books I used in preparing the lecture were uncritically pro-paranormal.

by Richard Saunders

si

by Michael Marshall

The inevitable downside to a movement with no center is a lack of a figurehead to drive activism and direct enthusiasm into effective pursuits, meaning opportunities to counter pseudoscience directly and publicly sometimes pass by, with local groups focusing their energies on their own local activities.

si

One of the unwelcome side effects of the mostly wonderful democratization of knowledge that has been ushered in by the age of the Internet is that we are losing consensus on what to consult when settling a bet.

No Time for Certainty

si

si

Thirty years ago, although dozens of tests had been mostly negative, astrologers said critics had ignored serious astrology. Now there are hundreds of tests, some of them even heroic. Has anything changed?

si

A handful of twentieth-century figures “created” the modern concept of the paranormal and its leading topics, transporting fantasy, myth, or speculation into a kind of believable “reality.” Most proved to be a chimera.

si

by Matthew J. Sharps, Schuyler W. Liao, and Megan R. Herrera

In a normal population, dissociative tendencies contribute to many types of paranormal thinking. Psychological dissociation, even at a subclinical level, is an important factor in the cognitive processing that leads to belief in the unreal.

si

by Craig A. Foster, Christopher K, McClernon, and Richard F. Reich

We used a classroom experiment at the United States Air Force Academy to examine whether necklaces infused with microscopic-particle titanium, such as those sold by Phiten Corporation, improve emotional well-being.

Does E = mc2 Imply Mysticism?

si

No word stolen from physics is (ab)used in the woo literature more than energy. The most fa- mous equation in physics is often cited as proof that matter and soul are one and the same, a tenet of mysticism.

si

As well-known monsters go, the chupacabra is of very recent vintage, first appearing in 1995. However, some writers have created pseudohistories and claimed a false antiquity for the Hispanic vampire beast. These examples provide a fascinating look at cryptozoological folklore in the making.

si

by Sadri Hassani

Deepak Chopra attempts to connect fundamental concepts of physics to consciousness and spirituality. He started (ab)using physics with his book Quantum Healing. But does he pass the first test of a true scientist: professional integrity?

si

Although the polygraph can be useful in coercing confessions, it is based on scientifically implausible assumptions of accuracy and is biased against the innocent. The scientific community justly considers it pseudoscience, and it should be abandoned.

Content copyright CSI or the respective copyright holders. Do not redistribute without obtaining permission. Articles, reports, reviews, and letters published on the CSICOP.org website represent the views and work of individual authors. Their publication does not necessarily constitute and endorsement by CSI or its members unless so stated. Thanks to the ESO for the image of the Helix Nebula, also NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team for the image of NGC 3808B (ARP 87).